Soap Box

Late Great Journalism - Soapbox Rewind

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a brand new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here's a rewind from 2016 which still holds up today. - TeamCDB

Some of my first vivid memories are the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the opening days of the Second World War and the first news about the attack came to us over the radio.

It was to be a long while before the first television pictures were to make their way into coastal Carolina and radio was king. Families sat around their living rooms and listened to their favorite radio shows in the same fashion as the families who would gather around television sets a decade or so later.

Radio was our prime source of keeping up with the news and legendary journalists like H.V. Kaltenborn, Gabriel Heatter and Robert Trout were among the most trusted men in the country who took the responsibility of reporting the news honestly and unabridged seriously, considering theirs an honorable profession with a commitment to inform, not influence, their public.

I sometimes wonder what they would think if they could see what a travesty their once noble profession has become in the fast and loose hands of the present-day mainstream media.

Last night I witnessed the low point of American journalism as CNBC personalities conducted what was supposed to be a presidential debate.

Actually - at least to me - it looked more like a Saturday Night Live skit as the questions got sillier and sillier and the obviously ultra-biased moderators made bigger and bigger dunces out of themselves even being booed by the studio audience, and the candidates took up defensive positions and turned, not on each other as the panelists were trying to incite, but on the moderators themselves.

In fact, it was the most unified I have seen the Republicans, as they metaphorically circled the wagons, defended each other and called out the moderators for their folly, much to the delight of the studio audience.

I never watch CNBC, and didn't know the personalities conducting the debacle, but if this is a sample of their idea of "journalism" I see no reason to change my viewing habits.

I know this was an extreme example, but unfortunately, it is a microcosm of the attitude of much of the mainstream media, though many of them have enough class to be a little more subtle about their fervent desire to promote anything Democrat and bury anything Republican.

The world we live in is in flux, ever-changing with catastrophic events happening overnight and we never know what kind of world we're going to wake to and the news has become a big part of most American's lives as we struggle to keep up.

Unfortunately, much of present-day media consider themselves opinion makers, influential molders of how the public views political candidates and situations.

Now, this would be perfectly fine if they declared their partisanship in advance and didn't try to present their biased opinions in the guise of accomplished fact and hard news.

And as important as what they do report is what they don't report, many times they pay scant attention to events that don't line up with their agenda, especially if it has racial overtones that go against their views.

One of the most violent rapes and murders to ever happen in America took place in Knoxville, Tennessee several years ago and involved the torture, rape and murder of a young white couple carried out by several black men and a woman.

I live in Tennessee and did not even hear about the horrible incident until months after it happened and found out from an out of state source.

Had the roles been reversed and it had been white on black the national media would have descended on Knoxville, Tennessee en masse with Al Sharpton in tow and it would have dominated network and cable news for a week.

But since the story didn't fit the mainstream media’s agenda, it was given little attention.

Multiply that scenario by a few hundred and we have the state of modern-day journalism in much of America.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

— Charlie Daniels

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Comments

Comments

Fake news

I worked for Georgia Pacific for over 20 years and lost my Millwright job to a guy that had NO EXPERIENCE in a paper mill, but the minds that be decided to put the fella over maintenance & needless to say we butted heads & I was fired. Unemployed for the first time in my life. Past few months Ive had the opportunity to watch more TV. I was blown away at how the media, who I always was under the assumption, that they were nonopinionated and they were supposed to simply state the facts of the day and not throw there two cents in then turn it over to a "special correspondent" that had more radical opinions... It's overwhelming hearing the pure trash that's talked about whomever is in there crosshairs for the day. It sickens me how far we've strayed in recent years. I asked my 74 year old father his opinions on what he thought bout all the stuff were bombarded with daily with the media and TV. He said son everybody has to have laws, rules or morals in this country & abide by them or otherwise we're like a bunch of dogs running around. Problem is nobody wants to live good Christian lives they want to be hellions and don't want all the things man was commanded not to do. It's Scarry when I see people openly praising Satan and proud of there homosexual lifestyle and you are chastised publicly via media or social media if you think otherwise. God help us..
Charlie I saw you in 1984 in Hattiesburg MS with Alabama. Best Orange blossom special I've ever heard. God bless you & the USAPosted by Daniel

More True Today

Amen, Amen & Amen Charlie the flaming liberals are fixing to flame themselves out with their latest mudslinging fiasco against Kavanaugh. No matter what the Senate, FBI and Trump does to appease these sore losers, it will not satisfy their evil lusts to destroy a man in the name of Choice. Their leader, Sewer Rat Obama said it best a few years ago when speaking on the subject stated about his two daughters "but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby" It is amazing to me how big of a flake Senator Flake really is, his name says it all, kind of like a preacher named Hinn, his name tells you he ain't no rooster. It is time for someone with gonads to lead Arizona and I believe that America Air Force Veteran Martha McSally, is that person. nuff said God Bless Texas, Tennessee and the Trump Train, PlowboyPosted by Plowboy

Bottom Line

With how "news" is "reported" it is evident that President Trump has thrown a kink in The New World Order and their socialistic plans. The mainstream media is used .. as Communists have said.....repeat things 3 times (whether true or not) and the people will believe it. Please continue to pray for our Country and for our President.Posted by Patricia

Tonight

See you tonight.Posted by Frank

To Plowboy

The quote you presented was Obama’s response to a question about sex education, not abortion. The right hates Obama so much they make things up all the time. Here is a fuller version of the quote: “But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters -- 9 years old and 6 years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16.
You know, so, it doesn't make sense to not give them information. You still want to teach them the morals and the values to make good decisions.“Posted by Dana

Love your music, not your politics

Charlie Daniels,
I've listened to your music for years. You've inspired me to become a very talented guitar player, and I consider you to be a great example of the real talent of the Nashville and Memphis Music scene, where your music goes beyond genres and created a sound that is uniquely "Charlie Daniels".
However, Charlie, I think that the US today is more divided than it's been in many generations, and it's in part because of the media that perpetuates mis-information or biased perspectives, but also because there has been a very real cycle of pain and oppression that stems back to the earliest years of our Nation. I am NOT a HRC fan, NOR a DT Fan, but there is one quote that HRC used that stands out to me...the US DOES have an "Original Sin"...and that was slavery. As you know, your musical roots go back to those old songs; slave songs. And if you can understand that just as your music carries with it the sounds, pentatonic melodies, 12-bar progressions, and harmonies that date to the origins of the slave era, so still does all walks of life in the US, from our businesses, to our government make up, our health care policies, employment, and the opportunities for success that our civilians have. Right now, our nation is in complete upheaval because our civilians are fighting back from oppression; our women are fighting back from abuse, and our minority sisters and brothers fighting back against racism that still strangles them in their communities...the same communities that have had to endure oppression since the times of slavery. So Charlie, just as your music still carries more than just a few notes of the American Slave History, so does every day society. In MY opinion, we should recognize the pain that this history has created, honor the beauty that has come from it (including your music!), but work WITH our brothers and sisters to free them from this new wave of neo-nazi-ism, hatred, violence. Your soapbox could be much more powerful than it is today.
Respectfully and sincerely,
Colin L. DisheroonPosted by Colin

Radio waves went haywire

If you depended on listening to the radio or MSM for news today, you would not recognize reality from what they describe. It's almost two different things.Posted by Jeff